German Blue rams and Bolivian rams

Q&A about South American Cichlids

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corycw13
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:44 pm

German Blue rams and Bolivian rams

Post by corycw13 »

Hi I'm new here but I've been keeping fish for a little over a year now and I had just gotten 2 bolivian rams a bout two weeks ago and was wanting to know some things. I've asked a couple of general sites and many of them could not answer my question they said I needed someone who was more expertice in rams so I was hoping you could help :)
So here it goes I'll start out with my tank info incase it could be causing any problems(sorry if I don't call them by the right names just going to use the name on my water tester)
Nitrate:20
Nitrite:0
Total Hardness:100 Soft to slightly hard
Total Alkalinity:200
PH:7.5
I just changed my tank substrate to sand
I have two angels, 1 large plecostomus, 1small sucker fish in a 55gallon with my two bolivian rams and one german blue ram
(sorry if I'm giving too much info but some of the forums asked for that stuff and I have school so I'm not always there to answer the question so I don't want to leave you haning for a week before I get to respond to a simple question)
Now here's the senerio:
The rams above I got at the same time. The top picture I was told and what I have researched on is a female and the second is a male bolivian ram and the next post is the pic of my german blue ram. That I think is a male but some say it's a girl but I think it's a boy.I am going to get it a mate when some come in at the lfs in the next month or so.
Here's the problem the female bolivian ram will stand to be next to the male bolivian ram for awhile before she'll chase him away he rarely ever chases her usually only after she chased him but no serious damag is done to each other. The gbr on the other hand is very aggressive to the bolivians( got about 6 months ago) and will constantly harass them if he sees them.
They all eat fine plenty of space to hide could be better but isn't too bad I don't think.Both the bolivians have small nicks missing but the male has a significantly more rippings but now it seems the gbr and the male bolivian will go at it like charge eachother and do circles until usually the gbr is meaner and really charges where the male bolivian has to get out of the way and then the gbr will chase him for a while. They all have nice color and seem happy except for the disputes. The lfs that I bought the bolivians from said that the gbr will need a mate to keep his cool is this true or is he just aggressive? Also how do male and female bolivian rams interact with eachother they seem a little mean to be a pair(that's what the lfs said)?
P.S. None of them really stick to a side or corner or area nothing they all go where they please.
Think thats all thank you for the help :D
P.S.S. The top pic has much more rounded fins than the second and has this little thing(bad terminalogy :( )
that I forgot what the name was but any way it's much more straight than the second whose is more slanted sorry if I confuse you but just in case I labeled them as the wrong sexes( I read that somewhere thats how your suppose to sex them)
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Pam Chin
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Re: German Blue rams and Bolivian rams

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Cory,

I don't like to mix the same type of cichlids together, because they are competing for the same area of the tank. Your German ram has already considered the tank his. It may settle down with time, but it is difficult to keep more then one pair per tank. If you can remove the German ram, it may allow these Bolivian rams to settle in. This is all compounded with the issue of whether or not they are going to like each other. Just because you have a male and a female doesn't mean they are guaranteed to spawn. The more secure they feel, the more apt they are to spawn. Providing frequent water changes and feeding live foods will help put them in mood. Females should be easy to ID - they have spangles on the side spot, males do not have this.

Hope that helps, and if you have more questions, ask away!

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